How Japan's Largest Earthquakes Really Felt | Tohoku (2011) Kobe (1995) ★ ONLY in JAPAN 

This is a NEW ONLY in JAPAN channel restarted in 2020 - if you haven't seen me in a while, welcome back! Subscribe & join the adventure \(^_^)/ I'll take you around the country with me finding stories just like this. Stay safe out there -john

This brings back so many memories. I knew someone who died in the 2011 Tsunami. The tsunami was scarier than the earthquake.

It’s crazy because my friends and I checked out one of those simulators in Tokyo a few days before the 2011 earthquake happened. I was teaching a private English class when it happened. Ended up huddled under a table with 2 women screaming as if it was the end. Not being from Japan and only experiencing tremors before that, I totally anticipated building collapse. It was one of the most terrifying days of my life and I’m so thankful for Japanese engineering.

My wife and I were planning to go for a 2-week long Western Japan trip 10 years ago, and when everything's set, i went to the travel agency in the morning to reserve tickets and accomodations right on March 11, 2011. Just an hour or two later, the flash news came on... We cancelled the trip. Not because we found it dangerous to go (Kansai and Kyushu were not much affected), but we just didn't feel right to be casual visitors when the Japanese people were in such a devastating situations.

every time there’s an earthquake that’s between 6.5 and 7.3 I’m always home alone at night. It’s like wtf does the earth want me to die alone?

I feel like we had a very similar reaction to the 2011 earthquake. I was studying abroad in Tokyo at the time. I had recently gotten back to my apartment/dorm and was watching videos on my laptop when it hit. I had a similar experience that I didn’t move at first thinking “oh, an earthquake” and figuring it would be over soon. Then the shaking got worse and I noticed my bookshelf swaying so I got up and got in the doorway of my bedroom. From there I could see outside the glass of our balcony doors. I could see the building next to ours swaying in different directions. The power lines were moving in waves like when kids sway a jump rope. I remember just being frozen for the 5+ minutes of shaking. When the shaking stopped, we turned on the news to see all of the tsunami alerts. When I realized how big and bad the situation was, I called my mom back at home in the US since she worked nights, I knew she might see the news. I was able to call and leave her a message to let her know I was okay. Then, after that, the cell service went down. I remember staring at the tv and watching the tsunami hit the coastlines of northern Japan and feeling so helpless for the people there. I remember getting used to the ground shaking for the weeks I remained in Japan because of the aftershocks. I remember after my University decided that I had to come home, I had phantom feelings of minor earthquakes like the hundreds of aftershocks I felt afterwards. It was such a surreal experience that is engraved into my memory. My heart still races when I share my experience with others, and my students each year for the anniversary. I still hope to return to Japan some day and get to continue to see all of the places that I was unable to get to because my abroad experience was cut short.

My cousin's house got crushed by the 2011 tsunami. Luckily, she was traveling during the time.

Everybody gangsta till you see the shaking outside of the earthquake simulator

I had a friend who was a total goofball in Japan, and he lived in Kobe during the 1995 earthquake. He was such a heavy sleeper that he slept through the whole thing!

As someone who has never experienced an earthquake in their entire life, this seems so scary. I can't even begin to imagine how I would feel

ONLY in Japan is an example for the perfect RU-vid Channel. It started from a passionate person about a specific topic he thrives for, creating interesting and entertaining videos with a constant improvement of quality. Thank you!

I always hear people say "don't panic" whenever in a dangerous situations. I consider my self to be a calm and rational person but when I first experienced a magnitude 6 earthquake, It made me panic for a short while. Being in a situation you haven't experienced yet is scary

Earthquake is like an everyday thing in Japan

In Iceland, we've been having swarms of earthquakes for more than two weeks now. From midnight last night to 07, we had 750 earthquakes, 15 of them above Mag. of 3. We're still waiting to see if there's going to be an eruption. It's been a while since we had this much ground activity. The ground feels like it's constantly trembling. 😬

Hey John! Just wanted to say your videos are one of the best out there! Very informative but still fun to watch. Also impressed to hear how the earthquake of 2011 changed you.

This brings back horrid memories I was in Ishinomaki-shi And I lost my brother in the Tsunami

I came back after hearing the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the Ishikawa Prefecture off the Sea of Japan my heart goes out to the people who had to evacuate from Ishikawa and nearby Prefectures that were hit by the earthquake and the 241 people who died from the earthquake.

It didn't just end on 3/11 We went through about 3 months of constant daily aftershocks, some of them larger than M7. It got to the point where we would experience phantom tremors and a common remark would be 'Hey, was that another earthquake?'

東日本大震災から今日で10年。災害の恐ろしさを発信してくださってありがとうございます。

9:25 Poor John the way he did the little sad sound and later said "That brings back a lot of bad memories I never wanted to experience again" made me sad ;-;

5:48 緊急地震速報の音、何回聴いてもビックリするし手汗出る

John you have created my favorite 2 channels Thank You.

I've experienced two earthquakes here in Indonesia AND THEY WERE MINOR EARTHQUAKES AND I WAS EXTREMELY FREAKED OUT BY IT!! I honestly can't imagine how horrifying it is to experience a level 9 earthquake mad respects for the people of Japan

So thankful that the previous channel didn't delete your old videos, else I wouldn't have found this channel. When the 2011 earthquake simulation started, I can see that you were on the verge of tears. You are a really brave man, John! And this video has been really informative, as is your other videos. If I ever move to Japan in the future or if I ever visit and experience earthquake, I will at least know what to do now!

10:15 Wow, I think John was starting to flip out, He didn’t look ok. I hope he’s alright.

this episode brings lots of memory from that day as I was watching the news.

That simulator is an amazing learning tool. It seemed a little silly at first, but seeing your reaction as to how realistic it really was absolutely amazed me. Very impressive setup at that museum, and thank you for sharing your experience!

John, incredible! I haven’t done this experience, but it must be really scary! Thank you very much for showing it to us!

Hey Hannah's back! I love the approach to the interview scenes - John sorta-sat down so he and Imamura-san are at the same height. Not only does it make for a nice balanced composition, it shows respect to the other party (eg thay you're equals, etc). Now if only we can see 2011 footage, right. Yeah the cringe will be there but eh, that's John-level authenticity for you

A beautifully done video! I appreciate the fact that you didn’t mention the nuclear disaster that I feel has been focused on forever. I know it was problematic and destroyed an area, but it scared many people and did paint Japan in a bad light. I remember the media coverage in America that people were terrified to eat fish, milk, or food imported from Japan for a while. It was incredibly sad, but you turned this into a very unbiased and informative episode. Earthquakes are a way of life in Japan, but it can be a problem when you become complacent or aren’t prepared. Just like with everything in life, we become too comfortable and I like that they have a simulator to help people handle such events the right way. I’ve never experienced an earthquake from what I remember. We do get small ones around here from time to time, but I would probably panic if I was there and it started knocking my stuff or self around. The fact that the buildings sway too freaks me out! I know that they’re built in a way to do that so they can remain stable during movement, but still, that’s so scary! Also, it was nice to see Hanna in this episode. I hope she’s doing well.

The production value of this episode was fantastic John, keep it up G.

This is an important video to watch. Living in Canada, I’ve only experienced minor earthquakes maybe twice where I actually felt it.

I love this episode, OiJ brand return to form! It seems this was filmed 2 years ago, watching this gives me a feeling of nostalgia, glad that you were able to release it in your new channel and hoping you're able to make edited videos more frequently

Wow new thing learnt today, That Shindo scale measurement is ingenious if paired with ritcher scale, highly practical for tremor prone areas such as Japan .

Thanks John. This channel is very special to me and many others, great content here.

incredible video, thank you!

Can hardly believe it's been 10 years. The memories are still quite fresh. For me typhoons were easy to get used to, but earthquakes will always make my pulse race, and my heart thump in my chest.

John, What saddens me is that Japan truly cares about the safety of its citizens in a crisis. We can't say the same about the government back home in the states. I write this as I live 2 miles from the active Hayward fault in the SF Bay Area. We are constantly reminded of mother nature's power and sadly most of us out here as we found out during the Corona pandemic, have to fend for ourselves. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Japan in remembrance of this day. I know here in the US, We were paralyzed by the images of the quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster unfolding live on TV. I remember the TVs in the Nightclub had CNN/NHK footage. We all literally came to a stop when it happened. Truly heartbreaking but as time and time has shown, The resilience and perseverance of Japan after significant events, from the attacks of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and disaster. 平和と多くの祝福

mate i cannot fathom how only 218k people are subscribed !!! the production quality of your videos and the story telling is amazing !

This episode means so much to this community and how the channel came about and what you did helping others durring the time of need that showed your love for Japan and its culture. As always another great video edit, so great to see Hannah(in the beginning of video had to second guess myself if i saw Hannah at the firefighter video watching (thought i was imagining things lol) that simulator of rain storm must have taken a few years of your complexation lol

Really great, well done video. I can't imagine the emotional toll an earthquake like Tohoku would have on people. Even long term.

I luckily was not in Japan for the 2011 Earthquake, but I was there for the 5.9 that occurred in October 2019 when Typhoon Hagibis occurred. I was on the 8th floor of a hotel between Shitaya and Ryusen (a neighborhood I lived in when I was with NHK in 2013) and the entire floor was shaking very violently and it was swaying like the building was going to break into two towards National Route 4, luckily for me that did not happen but I also remembered that there were lifesize windows all around the front door area of my room and with the typhoon hitting at full stop around 5:30pm that day I couldn't leave as unfortunately someone did and was killed because of that. Between the 2011 Japan Earthquake, the 2011 Virginia Earthquake I was a part of and the 2019 Hagibis Earthquake I have learned so much about this and I applaud you for sharing your experiences with that. That means a lot to myself but even greatly the people that will watch this and learn something about it in areas that aren't as susceptible to these types of earthquakes.

thank u for making this Video John

Very well produced video! Very informative too!!

Great Video John! I had no idea Japan had a separate way to rate earthquakes. I will have to check out that learning center sometime! 10 years since that catastrophic day, we must always be as prepared and respect the earth because Nature can be brutal at times. Remembering all those who unfortunately lost their lives or loved ones 10 years ago today.

You can tell that this was recorded pre-COVID not only because Hana is there, but because everyone has uncovered faces. Good to know that content from before the new channel is still being worked on and uploaded.

Thanks John for this very educational video, hope it never happens again. Be safe out there!

Thank you John, very informative.

I've been in four earthquakes in the magnitude 7 range. The one that struck closest to me was also the biggest one that was 7.3 and it did scare me but I was also 12 years old at the time. It did help that I had experienced my first earthquake at around 4 years old and many other lesser earthquakes before the biggest and closest one, but it was still scary. That earthquake was the only one in which I felt an obvious lessening and then increasing of the shaking, which is probably due to it jumping to the side and across to faults that people didn't think were previously connected. Nothing actually terrible happened for the most part and I think only one person died because the epicenter was way out in the desert where there were too many people and, more importantly, there weren't many structures. It was only 50 km from me though. I tend to react to earthquakes before I'm even consciously awake so my first memory of this earthquake was after I was already under my bed and I remember going to sleep on the top of my bed that night so I must have gotten under there automatically. I remember blue flashes of light coming in from my window during the earthquake but I used to look out my window at night before I went to bed because I wasn't tired when my parents made me go to bed and I saw blue flashes of light coming up right out of where the biggest fault is. I saw it frequently enough that it made it worth while to look out the window until I got tired enough to go to sleep. I saw the same color of blue flashes coming in my window during the earthquake and, just when I looked out to see what was happening in my room, my lamp fell down and so I lowered the little ruffle on the side of my bed again and decided that I didn't want to see what was going on out there. Of course, I just worried about the chimney falling on my room from above and what would happen if I fell from the second story where I was to the first story. This was also the only earthquake in which the first part was bad, then it calmed and I thought it would go away, but then it got big again. We don't usually get earthquakes that do that as much as this particular one did and that was scary. This earthquake was called the Landers Earthquake. I also felt the Northridge Earthquake and it wasn't so bad here so I was surprised when we saw damage out towards LA when we turned on the TV. There was another 7 that wasn't too bad where I was but I was pretty far from that one. The train track was closer and so I thought it was a freight train at first. By the time I realized it was an earthquake and got under the bed, it was basically over. Then there was a 7.1 on Easter and I was just walking in the front door of my mom's house when the shaking started. I know damn well that a person shouldn't run out of a building but I had just walked in the door and I honestly just wanted to escape buildings during the earthquake so I ran back outside again. The thing about running during an earthquake is that you kind of can't stop running (unless you fall, which I haven't managed to do yet, although this was the only time I ever ran during an earthquake). So I ran out the door and, because I knew it was dangerous to run out since it's the outside of buildings that tends to fall apart first, I kept running into the middle of the street. By then, my adrenaline was pumping healthily and so I proceeded to run to the end of the street and, when I got there, I ran for the hills even though the kinds of earthquakes we get don't produce tsunamis unless they indirectly cause an underwater landslide. Even still, I am a good hour's drive from the ocean so it would really take a meteor hitting the ocean for us to have any chance of a tsunami arriving here. Our faults are mostly inland though so the shaking can originate more closely too. In any case, I probably sprinted a half a mile and I hadn't done that since high school. What stopped me was that I realized I didn't know if there was even still an earthquake happening since I was running for the hills so fast. I stopped and the earthquake was over. Then I was kind of bummed that I never got to truly feel the earthquake but it is kind of funny that I ran for the hills so I just went back to my mom's house and told them how much I had run even though I couldn't even feel the earthquake while I was running except for the first jolts. Then there weren't any noteworthy earthquakes for quite a while here but I went to South America and experienced a relatively minor one in the 5 range there. I was in a classroom with other people from the US but I was the only one who went under the desk when I felt the shaking. Everyone asked me what was going on because some of them were from places with few or no earthquakes so they didn't know what was happening and the fact that I got under my desk made them feel like things were even more weird. That earthquake felt different from the ones in California because there was much more up and down motion so it felt more serious to me. I would say that I generally just take cover when there's an earthquake but I got complacent by the time the next 7 range earthquake hit. This time, I got fooled because there was a relatively notable earthquake the day before that was a 6.4 and I almost didn't feel it because I was lying in my bed with a powerful fan blowing because it was hot and the fan always shakes the bed. I only realized it was an earthquake when I realized that shaking was coming from a different direction than my fan. Ironically, I was looking at the map of recent earthquakes. lol So, when I realized there was an earthquake, I went into the hall, which is the strongest place in the house. By that time, it was over and I felt like I had missed out. I felt a few ground motions after that and I assumed that they'd all be aftershocks. Perhaps this happened to some people in Japan in 2011 as well since there were some formidable earthquakes before the 9. I don't know if this happened there but it definitely happened to me when we had a 7.1 the next day. I was sitting at my computer and I felt the ground shake but I figured it would just be another aftershock, albeit a larger one. It shook longer than I felt comfortable with and there was a part that got a little bigger and so that's when I got up and went into the hall. My mom apparently didn't know if she should go into the hall either but, when she saw that I went into the hall, she joined me. One of my cats stayed at the top of her cat tree taking a bath as if nothing unusual was going on and she stayed that way the entire time even though it shook for a minute and a half (granted the biggest earthquake I was in was only two minutes versus having to observe the first rule of emergencies to not panic, even though that 2011 earthquake was many times longer than any of the ones I've felt). The intensity of the shaking is one thing but the duration of the shaking as a whole is another, especially when some strong shaking has occurred because you don't know it's over until it's over. Mind you, I had seen many of the videos, both of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and ones in Chile that had a similar pattern so that made me feel more unnerved perhaps but I was in the best hallway so what else could I do? After that 7.1 earthquake stopped shaking, we went outside for a little while and my mom's dog faced the direction from which the earthquake waves came and started digging. That gave us a good laugh. In any case, the reason I have more chill about earthquakes than I would have been otherwise is because my parents told me about them. When I felt my first one, I remember being eye level with the window sill. I felt shaking and I remember my height because I looked at the window and then I looked around the room and realized that everything was shaking so this must be this earthquake thing that my parents had told me about. My best friend was in the play room with me and so I told her that it was an earthquake so we should go to the hall. That was about when my mom came to check on us. That earthquake was pretty small and, despite it being my first earthquake, it really just tripped me out. Most of the ones I felt after that were bigger. In any case, my best friend freaked out even after the earthquake was over and it was so small that I can't remember us feeling any aftershocks. I also remember trying to watch the World Series in 1989 and having it get interrupted by an earthquake. I asked my mom why we couldn't feel this one because we felt all the other ones in California but I didn't feel a thing from that one. It's really weird how some places suffer more damages than others, even if both places feel the earthquake.

Imagine a real earthquake happening while you experience a fake one 😭

Excellent presentation! And I learned!!

great video John.... loved my trip to Japan and your videos provided me the knowledge to see so many things and places so thank you very much....once the pandemic passes hope to get back and will definitely go to the earthquake center to experience the shake lab... I got caught out on the streets during part of Hagibis and that simulator was pretty close to what it felt like

室内で震度6にあったことあるけどすごかった 映像の震度7〜8のシュミレーションは 安全性を考慮した、かなり控えめな揺れだね。 私の体験や実際の映像から考えると 状況によっては実際より強く長くゆれるんだよな

I remember watching the news that day. It was such a solemn and gloomy day. The world was shocked and devastated. We prayed and hoped for Japan’s safety. I am thankful that Japan recovered quite remarkably and it’s thriving exponentially ❤️🇨🇦 thanks for this video John ❤️ love from Canada

Great video 🎉

uncle john make more content like this videos , this was soo interesting to watch and good luck.

I experienced the Kobe quake. I was in northeast Osaka and only lost a few dishes. When I turned on the TV, I saw Kobe on fire and realized this was not a routine earthquake. In 2018, I visited the Kobe Earthquake Museum, which also had a simulator. The staff asked if I wanted to try the simulator, but I just said, "Been there, done that!".

I went to this exact centre in 2019! It was really interesting, considering I've never experienced an earthquake or storm like that before

I learn so much from your videos. Thanks!

Great video John, I can't wait to visit Japan again

Lived in Japanese for more than 30 years. It was very informative and cannot agree more. We want to be accustomed with basic dissaster guideline. All students know it in Japan and every major school/company periodically train the evacuation drill. When you go watch the footage from 3.11 you see little to few people scream in panic. If you don't have a plan, go to your local authority website and consult the guideline. Spread the readiness. It can save lives.

Turkey needs this kind of education too tbh the impact it had & ppl didn’t know what to do..

Excellent video! I've never been in an earthquake but I can now understand how upsetting it would be!

Genuinely helpful and informative video. I commend you for taking videos for us, in that scary environment. Been putting aside my visit, and now I definitely want to learn more.

We went threw Northridge and that was bad. I couldent imagen going threw what happened in Japan. We were asleep and I heard the earthquake coming in my sleep, it sounded like a monster. It's roar zoomed at us like you hear a truck zoom up to you. Then the bed started banging on the ground and my feet couldn't find the ground as I jumped up. Earthquakes, am I right? What a pain in the behind.

Thanks for an excellent report, John. Powerful and enlightening. I was in Sapporo during a scary earthquake on a trip with my mom in the early 2000s -- we were in a hotel and the building swayed a couple of feet. I was terrified. It also affected her hometown of Nemuro on the eastern tip of Hokkaido, and left streets split open and my mom's family gravesite destroyed. I grew up in Japan with lots of small temblors. It was just part of life in Japan. But the big ones are really horrible. Thanks again for this report. Great to see Hana too!

Loving the design quality and your amazing personality. Nostalgic to the quality you have already perfected. Please keep up the amazing work.

Thank you. Enjoyed this educational Channel so much.

Whoa! This was a great video John! Super informative and a good reminder that despite the fact that a natural disaster could strike Japan at any moment, that Japan has plans in place to be as prepared as they possibly can be.

I tried another earthquake simulator in another centre. I tried the shindo 6 upper (age 13 or up is required to try shindo 7) and it felt like the whole thing and stunnnnnnnnnnning up and down and shaking and rumbling. I’m so scared and at that night when I got back to the hotel and sleep, I had a nightmare. Japan’s earthquakes are truly really scary.

That was a good one. Great info.

Thanks for this very informative video, Daniel-san!

When the Kobe simulation was running, we could see on your face the effect of the memory of Tohoku. Then when the Tohoku sim was running, I don't think I've ever seen your eyes that wide before! Very good video, sir!

Those simulators look scary! I guess I would want to experience them first before the real thing!

I really enjoyed this video - you have a new subscriber !

Thank you so much, John for sharing a piece of your life through your experience during the Tohoku earthquake. I know it's not easy to share those kind of memories and yet you impart us with something to appreciate more of what you're doing. Thank you for this very informative video. Knowledge on what to do during such disaster really goes a long way. And hey, congrats on reaching 100k subscribers!!! ☺️ Keep safe out there! 😉

あなたの日本に対するお気持ちに感謝します。せめてものお礼に👍ボタンを心を込めて押しました。ありがとうございます。 日本語通じるかな？頑張れ自動翻訳。

I’m so happy to see Hana back I thought that was her but wasn’t sure until you mentioned her name. It’s nice to see her again .

Thank you for this. It shows realistic simulation of the enormous forces of a shindu 7 earthquake

Thank you for video. Great teaching tool.

11:37 日本人が地震に慣れすぎてるってのはその通りだと思う…… この前の震度5の地震の時自分は寝てたけど、『あー地震だ……大きいな……』とは思ってたけどそのまま寝続けた…… 危機管理能力低い、改めなきゃな～😭

I also visited the disaster learning center in Tokyo in Ikebukuro and tried the simulator. It was scary!! I kept grabbing on to the leg of the table and felt it bouncing around, and it's a steel table! I also tried fire extinguishing and crawled in fake smoke counting elephant pictures. :) During the fire experience they told us that the most common reason for fires in Japan is arson, so that's why paper garbage has to be put outside in the morning and not at night.

Very interesting video! Terrifying that so many people had to experience that, I don't know what I would've done. I love the authentic vibe I get from you, especially at the end when you shared your personal experience. It made me happy to see that there are still people like you who want to help and be kind to others. Its inspirational!

This is a great video John, I didn’t know about the Hanshio Bosaigan, when I was in Tokyo in 2019, we visited the Bosaigan in Ikebukuro instead, they also had the earthquake simulator and my 2 girls really learnt a lot about disaster emergency action while there. Hope you get back to your 1million subs soon!

I live in Christchurch, New Zealand and we also had a big earthquake in 2011, and another big one in 2010. We have an earthquake museum (quake city) where you can learn about the earthquakes and the victims. It was a devastating earthquake and lots of people lost their lives. It was not as strong as the tohoku earthquake though.

This is the first time I found out about Japan's life safety learning center. Thank you for showing us this incredible place. It is a testimony to Japan's care for its people through disaster preparedness. I hope you are recovering from your bad memories of earthquakes in Japan.

very touching, thank you for sharing.

Great video and congratulations on hitting 100k subs! Keep up the good work and stay safe!

I found this so interesting and informative. Living in such an active earthquake zone it is important to understand the mechanics of earthquakes and safety procedures. Those simulations were very intense! Thanks for giving us a better understanding and also how the events of 2011 helped shape your life and ultimately helped to enrich ours. Thank you John! :o)

The Shindo scale is, arguably, far more meaningful to the layperson than the Magnitude scale. During the simulation of the Tohoku earthquake, you can see the trauma in his eyes. EDIT: I enjoyed your interview with the BBC regarding the events of that tragic day and your efforts to help with the aftermath.

Congrats on 100k

Just found this channel and Im Liking it

What I learned from this video ALWAYS CARRY YOUR OWN TABLE WHEN TRAVELLING JAPAN

I find it admirable that you went through a simulation like this despite what you went through. It takes a lot of courage to do this. From my memory I didn't experienced any earthquake. I was told by my parents that there was one when I was at the age I wouldn't remember. So I appreciate the information you lay out for people who consider visiting or wanting to live in Japan.

I hope at least one of fire departments in my country has this learning centre. Thank you for the great content!

Thank you for this insightful video. Having been on holiday in Tokyo, I actually flew home one day before the earthquake hit and remember seeing it on the news when I landed home on the news :(

You were sitting on this one John especially for today! Just the right video for March 11. As someone from the Pacific Ring of Fire as well, I wish my country had this level of disaster preparedness

I’m from California my whole life and a lot of people here are “used” to earthquakes but I still get anxiety they feel so weird

Thank you for this video. Very helpful.👍☕💕🦉

Nice coverage! Ever think of giving us a tour of the Yokohama Disaster Risk Reduction Learning Center?